Monday, 9 June 2014

I can't remember which shop as it was a quick 1 hour dash around, I was in the city for a conference and needed to catch my flight home. The fabric is a chiffon but was surprisingly easy to work with.

I had previously made up the Colette Chantilly last year from a cotton lawn but the lining I used was quite thick so the skirt ended up very poofy. So I was keen to try this out again in lighter fabric. It is lined with some black superior lining from Truro Fabrics that was left over from another dress. I love this lining fabric, at £9 per metre, it is more expensive than your average acetate lining but it is silky and not static, clingy or sweaty. Well worth it.

I usually Google any pattern before I start to get an idea of any issues I may come across in fit or construction. There was only one post I could find specifically on making up the Colette Chantilly in Chiffon. That reviewer felt the Colette instructions for the version made in sheer fabric were a bit lacking. So I was worried about seam finishes and how the yoke would look in the sheer fabric. However, I found the instructions to be very clear and easy to follow. I think the only thing I did differently was understitching the yoke. I used to skip the understitching, thinking Ha that's not really needed ... onto the next (more exciting)step. But it really does make a difference to the finish to your garment. I overlocked all of my seams and for the hem I overlocked it and turned a narrow hem.

Having sewn this up before made for a relatively quick sew. I cut a size 0 for the yoke, size 4 for the bodice grading out to a 6 for the waist and skirt. The skirt was cut at the shortest length on account of my short legs.

The only real difficulty was inserting the invisible zip, which I ended up putting in by hand. I should really have reinforced the chiffon with interfacing to support the weight of the zip. After sewing it with my invisible zipper foot, it was far from invisible, in fact it looked bloody awful.

So I ended up fixing it up as best I could, an hour before we were due to go to a family gathering. Last minute stitching despite being a quick sew ummm maybe need to get better organised

Overall I like this dress, despite the poor pattern placement on my chest, ha which my husband pointed out just as we were getting ready to leave.

Okay then, here goes nothing .... my first blog post.The sewing indie (hondabuss) month competition had finally given me the push I needed to start a blog!!! I am more nervous about this than I really should ...Right ?!

I have been sewing for myself for a little over a year now and I absolutely love it.

I have gotten serious use out of this pattern, I think it is a great basic pattern that can be hacked many different ways and so far I have made at least six variations. Not bad for the few dollars I paid, though I think Dixie has increased her prices recently, $8 is still a good price.

I left the sleeves off and changed it to a V neckline. The bodice is self lined and the armhole was finished using this great Colette tutorial. The ballet dress comes with a semi-circle skirt but I swapped this out for a maxi gathered skirt, just using the full width of my fabric. I also added pleats at the front shoulder which are crappy pleats but the busy fabric means these are not that noticeable.

Overall this is a great comfy dress and the best bit is a finally have a maxi dress that fits me! When you are barely 5ft tall, you learn to bypass maxi dresses pretty quickly when shopping. Yah for sewing for me !